Improvement in sheep-shears



lditemi gants anni @Wire Leners Param Necesito, and January 1s, 1870.

IMPRovnMnNT 1N SHEEP-sneaks. j

The Schedule Iefen'ed'to in these Letters Patent andmakng part of the same.

` ing of iron to the blade, and to obtain greater strength at the point of' juncture of the blades and handle, so as to prevent them from getting bent or sprung, when, as is often the case, they are accidentally thrown `from the shearers hand `by the struggles of' the sheep.

Figure l is a view, in. perspective, of' a pair of' sheep-shears, constructed in accordance with the first part of' my invention;

Figure 2, a plan view of' a blade, with an improved `connecting-piece secured thereto, illustrating more fully the form-0f said piece; Y

Figure 3, a similar view, showing the connecting- I piece extended, to form a backing to the blade;

Figure 4,-a side view of my improved shears, with a corrugated bow; and

Figure 5, a view, in perspective, illustrating a variation in themanuer of securing the connecting-piece to the blade, and, also,awire bow in combination therewith.

A A are'lthe blades, stamped outof' steel sheets, and then properly tempered and ground.

B B are handles, formed,.in the usual manner, out` of sheet-metal of proper, thickness, and joined by an elastic bow made either in one piece therewith, or separate, and subsequently united thereto, as in other sheep-shears. l

C G are my improved connecting-pieccs,for securing theblades to the handles. lhese connectingpieces are cast ot' metal, by preference, of iron, subsequently made malleable by the well-known process.

Their front ends, d, are made flat, to rest upon the rear ends ofthe steel blades, and, when heavy blades are used, are comparatively short, as illustrated in figs. 1, 2, and 4; but, if a very'thin steel blade be used, are extended so as to reach nearly to the point of the blade, and form abacking therefor, as shown in fig. 3 ofthe drawings.

Their rear ends, e, project in a plane, at right angies to the front flat ends, and are made convex on their outer face, to lit snugly within the concave of the ends of the handles, as seen i'n iig. 1, and are cut away and flattened ou the inner side, to avoid all superfluous Weight and thickness of metal; a simple curved offset, f, beingleit on therear edge ofthe wider ilat end of the piece, which operates as a stop,

`to prevent the cutting-blades from crossing too far.

Rivets h. h are cast in one with the connectingpieces C C, on that side of the flat front end which is t-o lie upon the blades, and on the outer convex face of the rear ends thereof', (see figs. 2 and 3,3) at a cost merely of' the slight additional weight of metal `in the casting. l

l Suitable rivet-holes are pierced and properly countersunk in the blades, and in the ends ofthe handles, to fit upon these rivets, which project from the connecting-pieces, so that when the blades, connectingpieces, and handles have each been properly made,4

separately, they are quickly and firmly united by a few-blows of a hammer; first, to drive the prqiecting rivets on the connecting-piece through the blade, and also through one extremity of' the handles; and again, to upset the ends thereof down on the opposite side.

The attachment of the connecting-pieces to the `handles ofthe shears is made still stronger by turn`A ing or bending over the Aedges ot' the handles or lips s s, cut therefrom, down upon the Hat face of they connecting-pieces, as fully illustrated in fig. 1, and this feature oi' my improvement enables me to use very light metal in the handles.

Where I form the handles and bow out of very thin sheet-metah corrugate the bow between the handles, as illustrated in fig. 4, in orderto impart thereto the necessary strength aswell as elasticity, and

this eorrugation of' the metal may, if desired, be exj tended with good effect in or along the handles themselves.

As a modication in the form or construction ofthe lparallel with its faces, to receive and embrace a pro-v jection from the rear end of theblade, as shown i`n I contemplate, also, an extension ot' my coinnccting-` i pieces rearwardly, to form handles, and their union by a Vwire spring-bow, as shown in Iig. 5.

In accordance with the first part of my invention,

the connecting-pieces C C may be 'swaged or welded on to the blades, and be riveted to the handles; or be welded both to the one and the. other; or he secured to either by `loose rivets instead ot' rivets casthomogeneous with the connecting pieces; but I regard the f attachment or fastening of the improved conneetingpieces by means of the homogeneous rivets, asmanifestly superior to any other mode.

I am aware that handles of cast-metal, united by'a steel bow secured thereto, have been combined with steel blades, by welding, in the construction of sheepshears; also, that the blades of such shears have Y l 93,840 n I 2 been riveted directly to the handles thereof, by means f and form :i secure joint between the two, substantially of loose rivets, and the hnndles connected by spring- :is herein described. vbows of elastic-'steel wire; and I herein make no In testimony whereof, have axed my Vhand 'co-- claim to any of these features,'whe1'e they n ,ppear in my said specification, this 1st day of December, 1869. connection with my present invention.

WVM; B. BARNARD. I claim, asmy inventiony Connecting-pieces, formed substantially :is herein Witnesses: set forth, interposed between the blades or blade- JOHN ONEAL, Jr., plates and the handles of sheep-shears, to unite them, J. W. NVEBSTE. 

